A PRISONER ran a criminal empire from his cell with help from a prison officer, police officer, police staff worker and a 27-year-old man.

Robert Talbot from Farnborough organised drug dealing and the theft and ringing of luxury cars worth a total of £500,000 from his prison cells at HMP Wandsworth and HMP Coldingley.

The 33-year-old was helped by prison officer Ian Cooper and his girlfriend Hayley Cloud, a PC for Lewisham police at the time, who lived together in Orpington.

Natalie Ricketts, who was a member of staff for Bexley police and lives in Hayes, and 27-year-old Thomas King, of Main Road, Sutton at Hone, also assisted Talbot.

They were all sentenced at Southwark Crown Court yesterday (March 23), except for Cloud, who was jailed in June last year.

Cooper, aged 35, provided Talbot with mobile phones and facilitated the smuggling of drugs and other contraband into the prison system.

Cooper persuaded Cloud, aged 28, to carry out unauthorised checks on vehicles so Talbot could clone the details in order to ring the cars.

Cloud also authorised the release of a seized Lamborghini Gallardo from a police car pound so it could be stolen by King.

Cloud persuaded her friend Ricketts, aged 28, to use the police database to carry out checks on Talbot's criminal associates.

Ricketts also stole police radios from Bexleyheath police station and gave them to Cloud for the criminal network’s use.

King supplied drugs and contraband to Cooper so he could smuggle it into prison, and police found heroin, cocaine and cannabis worth a total of £22,000 at King’s address.

They were all arrested during Met Police raids on May 6, 2009, following an investigation which began the previous October.

News Shopper: Prison criminal gang

SENTENCING

Talbot was jailed for 12 years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to bring or otherwise convey prohibited articles into prison, conspiracy to steal, and two counts of conspiracy to cause misconduct in a public office.

Cooper was jailed for five-and-a-half years after admitting two counts of conspiracy to cause misconduct in a public office and handling stolen goods.

Ricketts was given a 10 month prison sentence, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office and theft.

She resigned from the Met Police in June 2009.

King was jailed for four years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to bring or otherwise convey prohibited items into prison, conspiracy to cause misconduct, and conspiracy to steal.

Cloud was jailed for two years on June 17 last year after admitting theft, conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office, and handling stolen goods.

She was sacked by the Met Police in April last year.

POLICE REACTION

Speaking after yesterday’s sentencing, Carl Bussey, Acting Commander of the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards, said: "The jail sentences should serve as a stark warning that the Met will root out and deal robustly with police officers and staff who engage in corrupt activities, and also with those that corrupt them.

"There is no place for the likes of Ricketts or Cloud in our organisation and they no longer work for the Met.”

Ten men were jailed for a total of more than 20 years in August last year for their part in the criminal network, which saw them stealing vehicles, ringing them and then selling them.

TALBOT'S CRIMINAL PAST

Talbot, formerly of Starts Hill, Farnborough, was in prison after being jailed for 10 years in March 2007 for conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to commit burglary.

He was part of a gang nicknamed the Reservoir Dogs after they threatened to cut off a man’s ear during a series of violent robberies at victim’s homes.

They stole goods worth a total of more than £1m from homes across Bromley between July and December 2005.